


Light Lost

by ThexWinterxLady



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, I have one version of it on here already but I'm going with this one, Not sure what warnings to use yet, This is a story that I've been trying to get how I want it for years, posted on tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-08-19 07:26:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16530098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThexWinterxLady/pseuds/ThexWinterxLady
Summary: In all the nine realms, there is one thing that is certain: there are only nine. Right? At least, this is what is taught.What if there were more? Ones not only known to the king of Asgard, but kept secret by him after their demise at the hands of their enemy?A tenth realm. One once allied to the kingdom of Asgard, was destroyed in a quest to steal the source of the realm's great power: an ancient artifact, known only as 'the light.' During the invasion, the king's top general and his wife did their best to hide their daughter away. It was this act, and this act alone, that gave the semi-sentient artifact a place to hide, when no one else was left alive but the little girl hiding in the rubble..crying for her parents.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I have been trying to write this fic for a few years now. I have never been happy with how it has turned out any time I tried to write it, so I have given up each time. This time, I have been given some (loose or more than that) inspiration from part of a few different imagines that I have seen. As well as some songs I’ve been listening to. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it as I try again. 
> 
> Feedback would be GREATLY appreciated and encouraged. <3 (Please also note, there will be some sad stuff in this story.)

 

The week began as a normal one should, for the children born to the king of Asgard. As well as those, who were not.

A symphony of laughter rang through the palace gardens; the highest notes having come from a small child with a head full of fiery red hair. The others, having come from two boys. Sons of Odin, a bit older than the girl but younger than their older siblings. Both of them wanted her attention, and were doing their best to keep it.

The last full day that they spent together, was in the middle of the week.

After she went home with her parents the next day, neither Thor nor Loki ever saw her again. The reason behind this, lying within the grim news that had come to Asgard. That one of their closest allying realms had been invaded and destroyed by Frost Giants; what they wanted was unclear, though it was clear that no one had survived. Hearing this heavily dismayed the queen, and concerned the king. Millions of lives - one of their greatest allies - had been lost, needlessly. The information was kept from the ears of anyone else; a spell of forgetting had been placed on the entirety of the realm, and her people. To prevent the grief from impacting the lives of the princes in the future, they also had their memories stolen. The loss of their allies, the friend of the queen, and her daughter; added onto the long, and ever-growing, list of things which Odin kept secret.

Only Odin, Frigga, and Heimdall were aware of the great loss - at least as far as Asgard went.

The later information that the force that powered the realm had disappeared, was thought to be something that could be ignored. If it were ignored, then perhaps over time it may simply fall into legend. Or; unbeknownst to the Allfather, and his bride, it may ‘fall’ somewhere else entirely.

. . .

“Frank! Frank,  _what_ are you doing?”

The voice of an irritated, crabby woman rang out across the yard from where she stood on the porch, arms folded. She glared out into the rain, and rolled her eyes. The thought  _‘I hate children’_ crossing her mind as she was just about to storm across the muddy yard and force the boy back inside, she finally got an answer.

Out of the pouring sky water, a boy walked unsteadily forward. He had dark hair, and was about nine years old. Despite being soaked clean to the bone, and shivering profusely, he had brought another child to the porch with him. In his arms, Frank was doing his best to hold a up little girl he’d found. Even if the Orphanage lady - as most of the children called her - was mean, he knew he couldn’t leave another person out in the rain alone. Especially; since she looked like she was hurt.

“I’m right here, Mrs. Pitterling.” The boy finally got out, nearly out of breath from having trudged through the muddy yard carrying another child with him.

“What were you doing?” the older woman snapped, as she folded her arms impatiently. “And what is that  _thing_ you brought with you?” her tone was huffy, as if she were too busy a woman to have to put up with such nonsense.

“It’s a little girl, ma’am. I found her out in the woods.” Frankie’s voice shook, as he swallowed roughly. “She’s hurt pretty bad..I didn’t think I should leave her.” He added this, as if hoping that it would not cause further aggravation to the woman who took care of him.

“Oh great. You’ve brought me another mouth to feed!” Mrs. Pitterling threw her arms up. “And how many times have I told you, never to go out into the woods?” she scowled, grabbing hold of his ear. “You’ll bring all kinds of dirt, bugs, and everything else in here! I don’t want to clean that up. What if you brought poison oak or poison ivy in here, and got the other children infected? Do you know how much that would cost, to have to take care of you all? Come here!”

A whimper of pain came from Frankie, as he did his best not to drop the little girl who he’d worked so hard to not end up hurting further, on his way across the yard and then up to the porch.

“I want you to get cleaned up, and then I want you to take care of..that  _child_ you brought in.  _You_ found her, so it’s not  _my_ problem.” Mrs. Pitterling shook her head, as she dragged Frankie in the door. Quite a few of the other orphanage children were waiting inside the main room, or on the stairway looking down at them. When caught, they scattered.

“When you get  _that_ done, I want you to take care of your chores. While you do them, I’m going to take a nap. Don’t wake me up unless the building is on fire, or someone comes to adopt one of you stupid  _brats_.” She huffed, muttering to herself and shaking her head. She slammed the door to the kid’s room, on her way down the hall and to her own bedroom.

After the woman left, Frankie frowned. An older girl, named Clara, went to tending to the wounds of the other little girl. She sighed slowly.

“Frankie, you have got to stop making Mrs. Pitterling mad at you. One day, she is going to hurt you real bad.” she looked over at the boy, and shook her head. Another little girl, named Annie, was crying. “I wanna be adopted. I don’t like it here no more,” she wiped her eyes with her hands in effort to clear away her tears, but ended up continuing to cry.

“We all do,” Clara sighed, while holding Annie closer.

Within hours, the little girl brought in by Frankie woke up. She had no idea who she was. Where she was. And immediately began to cry for her mother, who none of the other children knew of, or of her location.

This is where the story would begin: a string of sadness lasting all the way from childhood into early adulthood. From sorrow and anger, to an extremely odd day.. Where a certain person with green eyes and dark hair would make an appearance in the little girl’s life again.

And change everything.

 


	2. Chapter one: “A new customer.”

 

The catchiest songs were the ones that she liked to dance to. Dark hair, sunkissed tan, dark eyes, perfect body. Everything about her all in harmony with the words blaring from her radio - Rayna Garnet was one of the best dancers in town. Almost everyone knew it. 

On days when she wasn’t working, she spent her time at home with Emily in their shared apartment. Her enthusiasm and sass could light up any room, and could get her more timid friend to join her in whatever crazy thing she was doing at the time - despite that she is much shier than Rayna is.  _ Was _ . 

A lot of their time was spent singing at the top of their lungs, dancing like they had not one single care in the world, and goofing around together. It helped make their dull little world seem just a tiny bit brighter. 

Emily and Rayna had met in a musty, run-down old orphanage as children. They’d been joined at the hip ever since, and hardly ever did anything that the other didn’t do. Even though they were starkly different from each other: Emily had fiery, unruly, red hair. Pale skin, covered in an ungodly amount of freckles; she lacked the “perfectly girlish ‘girlish figure’ ” that her sister had, and was immensely shyer and much more introverted than her. For all their differences, they had a bond unshakable by any outside source. All the way up to the night of their wreck. 

They had been goofing around after work, driving around in the rain at night to get their minds off a particularly bad day at work. Both of them singing to whatever came on the radio, driving wherever the road they were on led them. Eventually, they were going to head home. Neither had good sense of direction, though, so Rayna had asked Emily to get a map. 

In her attempt to get a map, she dropped it in the floor. She went to get it, but was stopped by Rayna, who was convinced that she could reach down and get it herself - even though she was the one doing the driving. 

It would only take a few seconds, after all, so what would be the problem? 

The ‘problem’ was that by the time she bent back up and unfolded the map to try and see where they were, there was a deer in the road that neither she nor Emily saw until it was too late. Rayna dropped the map again quickly; in a split second, they were no longer on the road. 

The screeching of tires on wet asphalt, the world spinning, and the smell of blood haunted Emily to this day - when she was supposed to be working. 

Emily had crawled out of her window and dragged herself across the ground, barely able to do that. She tried calling for Rayna, who didn’t answer with anything but garbled coughing and pained gasps for air. 

How she’d gotten out, she didn’t know. How help arrived, or when it had finally shown up, Emily didn’t know that either. What no one seemed to know, however, was not either of those things. It was how Emily had survived. It was as if something was keeping her alive, when she should have been in as bad or worse condition than her sister was. None of the doctors understood it. She was told it was a miracle that she was alive; told the same thing when she recovered somehow, and once more when she was able to go home 

Emily didn’t believe it, though. She wanted to be where her sister was. 

While Emily had gotten better and had been let to go home, Rayna was in a coma and on life support. No real signs of life were coming from her, and several times Emily had been asked if she wanted to take her sister off of life support - every time, she told them ‘no.’ She was still holding onto the hope that one day, Rayna would wake up. 

This is what she was thinking about presently, when she was being given a dirty look by her current customer, who cleared her throat at her. 

“Excuse me, but are you going to continue to stare off into the middle of nowhere, or are you going to take my order already?” she asked snidely, crossing her arms. 

Snapping back to the present, Emily bit her lip. For a moment, she had briefly thought that it was her sister calling to her that she had heard. The smell of food and sounds of people around her quickly knocked that out of play, though; she was at work, she remembered. 

“I’m..I’m sorry,” Emily cleared her throat. “I was..thinking about something..” she looked off to the side, almost being lost in her mind again. 

“Hey, freckle face.” the woman snapped her fingers. “I really don’t care what’s going on in your air-filled head, I don’t have time to wait for you to space out for twenty minutes again. I have to go soon. If I don’t get my order taken right now, I’ll have your job. Understand?” 

The repeating of her ‘ _nickname_ ’ from high school hit Emily’s ears sharply. She frowned, and nodded to the girl. It was someone who had been terribly popular in school, even though she behaved like a horror every chance that she got. Emily didn’t get it then, and still didn’t get it now - this woman was popular still, even now, even though she’d only gotten worse. Perhaps it had to do with her being the former mayor’s niece, she guessed.  

“Yes, I understand.” Emily nodded, taking her order and forcing her best attempt at a smile onto her face. The rest of her day didn’t go any better, and only made Emily feel that much more tired as things continued. Her car wasn’t working, so it didn’t help any that she had to keep reminding herself of that so she wouldn’t forget and look for it when she was off from her shift. 

Not only was she going to have to walk home, but to the hospital as well. She had decided that no matter what, she was going to see her sister every time that an opportunity showed up. And she had one today. Tired or not, Emily was going to go see Rayna. She owed her, after all. She survived, and Rayna wasn’t. 

**. . .**

By the time the quitting time rolled around, Emily was more than done with the human race. Again. Having to keep her job to pay for keeping her sister alive, a home, and food for her two pets was all that kept her from telling her boss where he could shove it when she was told that she had a double-shift to do the next day. 

Sore feet headed out the back door - where her boss insisted employees  entered and left - turning down the street that would take her into the bigger part of town. 

Her visit was cut short because it was patient bath day - even those in comas had to be cleaned up. It apparently took longer for them to be cleaned up than for ones who were awake and functioning, so Emily was asked to leave in the middle of her tearful ‘I’m sorry you’re the one lying here, and I’m not’ speech that she usually gave her sister. 

 

On her way home, she couldn’t help but continue to cry. Especially when it began to rain. Ever since their wreck, she’d developed a fear of rain and panicked when caught out in it alone. Going home brought her little comfort. She missed her sister, and was only reminded of her there. Her dog and sister’s cat came up to her to try and make her feel better, but it didn’t do much good. 

The arrival of dawn was stale, and stiff for Emily. She had no desire to do anything, but knew she had to go in to work. Robotically raising herself from the floor, she fed and watered Carol and Billy, and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She nearly felt like her feet were going to fall off, but it didn’t matter much when she had other mouths to feed aside from her own - which she had forgotten to do, again.  

Stomach growling the entire way to her work, Emily got lost in her own mind again. For a moment, things in the real world were fading away. This time, they were changing to a vision of sorts. Not of her sister, but of a place that Emily held no recollection of. 

Gardens full of flowers like she’d never seen, a tall building that glinted gold in the sun..air fresher than she’d ever breathed in before. Nothing made sense. So lost in this most recent edition to her visions was she, that she almost passed her workplace up. The sound of her boss yelling at her from the backdoor brought her back to Earth; confused as she was, she shoved it from her mind again. This had happened to her only a handful of times in her life, so she at least knew it wasn’t something to fear. It was, actually, something to be ignored in her opinion. She had ignored every odd vision she’d had up to this point and been fine, so why pay attention now? 

**. . .**

Shaking her head to clear her mind of all unusual and unwanted oddities, Emily headed in to start her first shift. Which began with crying babies and the usual rude customers sitting at their favorite tables. Wonderful. 

Nearing the end of Emily’s first shift, she was ready to pull her hair out and kill everything she saw. She’d been yelled at, called names, spat up on by crying children. Some part of her was convinced that the customers all hated her, or something. Where were the nice ones? Why was it so rare to have someone be kind to her, rather than mean? 

A slow sigh of exhaustion came from her as she washed her face off in the bathroom. Closing her eyes for a moment, she looked up in the mirror. Missing the bits of gold showing up in her eyes, due to how tired that she was, Emily went back out to start her second shift. Thankfully, there were significantly less people waiting to be served by her. Most of them were older people who had more patience, though there was still that odd rude one sitting here or there. With so few waitresses working now, it surprised Emily greatly, that she ended up being the one to serve the most polite customer yet. Someone who was new not only to the restaurant, but to the town - Emily had never seen him before, which would have caught her interest more if she had some sleep under her belt and wasn’t so sore.  

“Um..hi,” Emily cleared her throat. “Any ideas on what you want yet..?” she tried her best to smile at him, and brushed some stray hairs out of her face with the back of her hand. 

Bright green eyes met hers, followed by a smile. 

“Yes, I think I’ve decided.” the customer - a tall man, with short dark hair - nodded to her. 

“Alright,” Emily nodded, and got her paper ready. Once given his order, she went to go and tell the people in the kitchen what she needed. The rest of the night that she was there, it seemed like there kept being reasons to have her come back over. A new drink, a question. It struck her as odd, but it was a nice change from how the last two days had been for her, so she didn’t mind. 

At the end of the day, she got called over one more time. 

“Excuse me, but could you direct me to where the library is? I’m new to town, and I’m afraid I don’t know where very many things are yet.” His true purpose for coming to the town couldn’t be given away yet, of course. He was looking for someone specifically, and thought it could be her; but telling her that now would be a bad idea, he decided. 

“The library?” Emily repeated, quieting a yawn. “Um..I’m actually..really.. really bad with directions, but I can try?” she felt her face turn a few shades pinker. Clearing her throat again, she looked off to the side and bit her lower lip. 

As much as she wanted to go home and pass out, she also didn’t want to go home. Going home just meant more loneliness, so why not help someone out? Even if he was a stranger, Emily had to admit to herself - he was a rather attractive stranger. Taking a breath in, Emily looked up at the clock. Recalling that the library had new hours, she decided to go ahead and do it. At least if she made herself more tired, she should be able to fall asleep right when she got home finally, right? 

“Wonderful.” a soft smile was offered in response, though in noticing how tired she was, he paused. 

“Actually.. Would it be too much trouble if you could show me tomorrow? It is rather late, and I’m sure you’d rather go home. Your boyfriend must be quite worried about you by now,” he added, looking a bit confused when Emily laughed. 

“S-sorry,” Emily tried to compose herself again, and ran a hand through her hair. “It’s just..well.. It’s funny that you think I have a boyfriend. I’ve never had.. even one. Everyone thinks I’m weird. They can’t get past all the freckles I have.” she shrugged, lightly chewing at the soft inner part of her cheek in thought. “But yeah.. I’m not busy tomorrow. Where’re you staying..? I could probably stop by tomorrow and try to show you to the library. If I don’t get myself lost first,” she sighed slowly. So many shots she’d taken at herself already, and she had no idea she was even doing it so often. 

“Nowhere,” the semi-honest answer came, as he shook his head. “I wasn’t sure where to go, since I’m new here. I was thinking of asking you, but I didn’t want to trouble you any further.” 

‘Nowhere?’ The word repeated over and over in her head, drawing a frown to her lips. 

“Miss?” 

“Huh?” Emily snapped to, and blinked a couple times. “Sorry. Ah, no.. you’re not bothering me by asking. I just… well, I have no idea what it’s like based on my own experience, but the one hotel closest to here.. I’ve heard some pretty bad things about it from other customers.” she frowned a bit more. In the back of her mind, a quiet voice was whispering into her thoughts: You know where he can stay. He’s too nice to stay in a run-down place. Be spontaneous! Ask him if he wants to stay with you for now. You don’t sleep in your room, anyway. 

Unsure whether or not it was a good idea, Emily exhaled slowly. 

Well, the worst that could happen is that she ended up dead. She’d been thinking she deserved it anyway, for a very long time. So, was it really so bad a possibility? The obvious answer was ‘yes,’ but for now she was not going to dwell on these things. Clearing her throat, her eyes met his. 

“Um.. you could always just stay with me until you find somewhere better..if you want to, I mean. The only other ones living with me are my cat and dog, so I do have room.”

**. . .**

Not having expected a ‘yes,’ the conversation on the way back to her apartment was halted more than once, but pleasant overall. Emily pointed out what she knew about the town, and attempted to make a joke or two. She knew that they weren’t that good, but found it nice that he laughed at them anyway. Not many people would do that. 

Upon arriving at the apartment building where she lived, Emily opened the door for him, and waited for him to walk inside. Following after him, Emily fished her keys out. A frown crossed her lips, as she realized suddenly: she had not asked him what his name was. Had she? She looked up, and brushed her hair out of her face with the back of her hand. Biting her lip for a few seconds, she looked over at him. 

“I..um. I’m sorry, I really am..I just realized, I don’t think I asked you your name. Did I?” Emily frowned, stopping for a moment. 

Noticing how bad she felt for not asking, Loki shook his head. It had not even crossed his mind, with everything else that he was trying to sort out going on up there. There were few memories that he’d been able to piece together over time. At first, none of them made sense. After enough of them came together, and he had seen his mother with a painted picture of herself and another woman who was holding a small child - things came together for him. Things were still coming back to him as he fought against whatever it was that was blocking his memories, but he was sure that he’d come to the right place. The sheer presence of the woman he was standing next to, radiated of some sort of power. Albeit it was a completely foreign one, he knew there was something there. Besides. Emily was the spitting image of the child that he’d seen in the picture that his mother had - only older, of course. 

Finally, he gave her a soft smile. 

“It’s alright, I’ve noticed that you seem to have a lot on your mind anyway.” he waved his hand, and cleared his throat; ignoring the sudden thought that he had of _‘I’m used to being overlooked anyway,’_ he nodded to her. 

“I’m Loki.” 

 


	3. Chapter two “Contemplation.”

The rest of the evening prior, was spent with Emily getting to know the person that she’d let into her home. It was interesting - something in her made her feel like she might know him from somewhere. Though she knew it to be impossible; surely, she’d remember someone so nice. Someone who she enjoyed being around so much.

When at last she convinced Loki that she didn’t mind if he slept in her room and she slept in the living room - as she’d been doing anyway, since the wreck that put her sister in the hospital - Emily drifted off, into a troubled sleep. Too tired and sore to wake herself up, Emily woke up the next morning with a small headache - and a large heartache. She missed her sister, and it was weighing her down a lot. She made an effort to hide this, though, and went to the kitchen to make some things for breakfast once she remembered that she had someone else here aside from herself, who would need to eat. Even if she herself didn’t.

Humming to herself softly, Emily pulled a chair up to the side of the counter, and got up on it so she could check to see what she had in the cabinets. There wasn’t going to be much, that much she already knew, but she was going to need to try, anyway. All she found was stuff for homemade pancakes. She pulled the box out, checked the date, and thought it over. If everything else was still good, Emily decided that this wouldn’t be such a bad thing for breakfast. She’d made them many times when Rayna was still here, and had been asked to never stop because she liked them so much. A pain hit Emily’s chest when she remembered her promise to her sister: It was not a promise kept. With someone else here in need of being fed, Emily saw no better time to try and keep her promise to her sister again.

She was just getting everything else out, when she heard her dog barking excitedly and jumping around. Before she could call out to see if Loki was awake now, he appeared and was standing  in the doorway to the kitchen. “Good morning,” he started and offered her a small smile - apparently amused to see her standing on the counter to reach her unusually high-up cabinets.

A shade of pink crossed her face, a bit embarrassed to be caught doing this; Emily brushed her hair out of her face and tried to offer a smile in return.

“Um..good morning, Loki.. Did you..” she cleared her throat. “Did you sleep alright?”

Her concern is so apparent, that Loki decides not to tell her the truth - that he had had trouble sleeping - and smiles at her pleasantly instead. “I did,” he nods to Emily, glad to see her smile back at him.

“Oh, good.” Emily answered him, and looked back into the cabinet for a moment. “You don’t..have any allergies, do you?” she asked, glancing over at Loki. “I’m..um.. I am going to make us some pancakes..I hope that’s alright,” she added, only to be greeted with another nod in return.

“Not that I know of. And that would be fine,” Loki paused. “Do you need any help?” he rose a brow, The slight worry that she might fall and injure herself when trying to get down, lingering in the back of his mind.

“I..” Emily looked around, biting her lower lip. Getting down from the counter with what she had still safely in hand; might be difficult, she decided. “I think I might, yes..If you don’t mind.”

He gave her a look of ‘if I minded, I wouldn’t have offered,’ which caused her to blush even further. A soft laugh left him, though, since she looked so cute.

“It’s alright. Here,” Loki said, moving over by the chair that she’d climbed up on, and holding his hand out to her. Emily took his hand, and carefully climbed down.

Having managed not to spill or drop any of what she had with her, Emily set it out on the counter, and moved the chair. Pulling her hair back, she washed her hands, and went to grab the dishes that she would need to make their breakfast.

“Alright..so..if I remember right..” Emily muttered, mostly to herself. Her brow furrowed lightly, and she thought about it for a moment. “Oh, right. I need this..two of these, a measuring cup, and..a plate.”

Once certain that she had everything that she needed, Emily went to get started. She stopped, though, when she saw that Loki was also washing his hands now. Emily rose an eyebrow, and tilted her head. “What’re...you doing?”

“Helping?”

“Oh,” Emily blinked. “Well, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to..I mean, I wasn’t expecting you to, or anything..”

Most of what she said ended up turning to a sort-of-mutter. She eventually fell quiet, evoking a sigh from Loki. There were several more instances like this, before Emily finally calmed down.

From his point of view, it had to of been the dry pancake mix that they started tossing at each other. From her point of view, it was his smile.

**. . .**

The trip to the library was different than expected.

Walking there made Emily’s feet sore. Getting there was awkward at first, but became more interesting as they looked through the books and discussed their favorite genres. Emily trying to get a book on her own, resulting in the ladder breaking and her falling on Loki when he tried to help her down first. Her endless apologies on the matter...reassuring her that it was fine, he’d been hurt worse before. And then Emily being worried about that.

On the way home, carrying so many books. Offering Emily his coat, when she looked like she was too cold. It was like they had known each other for years - not merely a day or so. Neither of them could be happier.

Later on in the day, Emily fell asleep with one of her books in hand still; head on Loki’s shoulder. She’d fallen asleep in one of her favorite parts of the book, but it was late. Emily was sore. It made sense that she would drift off, even despite that.

Not wanting to wake her up, Loki stayed where he was and let her rest. As she slept, he thought back on what he’d found before he had even come here. Finding her hadn’t been easy, and now that he finally had.. He had no idea how to even try to tell her. True, she loved to read about such things - that much, he’d gathered from what kind of books that she read. However, she didn’t believe in it. She’d made that abundantly clear by now, which made the idea of trying to tell her that he believed she was not only not human, but a part of a race which were highly adept in several kinds of magic..as well as being the only one left in existence..so much harder.

A slow sigh escaped Loki, as a frown crossed his lips. As much as he wanted to tell Emily, he just wasn’t sure how. Which was just that much more frustrating to him. At first, he thought that it could probably wait, since he had all the time he needed, really. Then, it occurred to him that since he was a guest in her home here, she might eventually wonder why he is sticking around so long.

It had seemed so simple, when he was in Asgard and had decided to come here to look for her. He had a plan, then. And now, without even knowing she’d even done it, Emily had completely derailed that plan. Simply by.. _being herself._

Now, he didn’t know _what_ to do. The people he dealt with on a regular basis were nothing like her, which, in a way, made it easier to know what to expect from them. What he’d gathered from Emily so far, was that she was not one to gloat..about anything. In fact, she seemed the direct opposite: instead of being horrendously stuck on herself and always going on about all of her best qualities and the things that she’d done, Emily was quiet and far more reserved. On top of that..she seemed to think very little of herself. Something that he could relate to, quite well. Even if he did his best not to let on like it to anyone else.

As he thought, Emily shifted a little bit. She looked cold, so he took it upon himself to bring his jacket from across the room so he could place it over her. Since she was asleep, his using magic would be an easy thing. Easy, because she wouldn’t be able to see it and end up asking him a lot of questions.

Although he knew it wouldn’t always be like that, it was still nice for the moment.

Brushing her hair out of her face again, Loki let a small smile. For now, telling her could wait. He’d finally decided it. There was no need to rush, and ruin this. For now, he could let her sleep. Enjoy her company, and that of her two pets.

This was what he _thought_ that he decided that he would do, anyway. Little did he know, that his mind was going to be changed very soon.

 **_Next day_ ** _soon._


	4. Chapter three: “Worst day ever (?)”

By the time Emily was waking up the next morning, she had no idea what time it was. It took her a couple minutes to register it when she saw the clock in her kitchen, and by then she had to make her choice on whether or not she was going to call in to work to let them know she’d be late, or just get ready and hurry herself to get there. On top of that, she had to decide if she wanted to waste time on eating or not. In the middle of trying to decide these things, Emily came to the realization that she hadn’t made dinner. Her dog, Carole, needed to go out. And her cat, Billy, needed to be taken care of as well. She was also wondering how in the world that she’d slept so long. Usually, she couldn’t sleep that long without being incredibly exhausted first.

In her rush to get herself ready, Emily went to take a shower and almost forgot some of her clothes. Each thing she did wrong or perceived herself to have done wrong, only stressed her out that much more. Blood circled the drain from all the times she’d accidentally cut herself shaving, an untied shoelace nearly tripped her. It was a small amount of things, building up into a mountain; not _one_ thing was going right.

At the very last second - after she remembered that Loki was still here - she scribbled a note apologizing for not having made breakfast this morning..or dinner the night before. She felt so horrible for it, and was hoping that she could make up for it.

On her way out the door, Emily forgot her purse. Having no time to even realize that, she ran to work as quickly as she could.

Upon arriving, her stomach churned at the sight of her boss. Cursing her out for being late, he threatened for the millionth time to fire her - she half suspected because he was looking for any reason to get rid of her. Not because she was a bad employee, but because she was an ‘eyesore.’ Something unappealing to look at, in his opinion. That, and he had someone prettier wanting to work there, anyways - _his cousin._

“I’m sorry, sir.. I.. I overslept. I did my best to get here, and..” Emily ran her hand through her hair, trying to gather her breath. Shutting her eyes for a moment, she felt a first pang of pain in her chest. It was unlike normal pain, and for some reason felt a little familiar to her. As if she’d felt it before.

“Oh, is that so?” her boss barked out at her, arms folded. “Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Because if you want to keep your job here, you’re pulling a _triple-shift_..” he gave her the most evil look, almost looking to be reveling in her shock. “If you mess up, you can just kiss going to see that no-good sister of yours goodbye for awhile. Today’s not the only time I’ll have you do it if you come in late again. It’s that, or you’re fired, Garnet. I’d keep that in mind, if you even think about objecting. Just so you know.”

Emily froze, a swirl of emotions welling up in her chest. She was getting sick and tired of her boss taking shots at Rayna, who couldn’t say anything to the contrary to defend herself. However, she also knew that he wasn’t playing when he kept telling her that he was going to fire her. So, she swallowed those feelings, muttered an occasional, soft ‘yes sir,’ or ‘no sir’ in reply, and waited until he was gone to let a shaky exhale go. Mentally, she was furious.

 _Some days, I wish_ **_you_ ** _were the one stuck in the hospital in a coma.._

Emily thought bitterly, before she stopped herself, imagining a whole family of people who felt like she did because someone that she cared about was stuck in a coma, unable to do anything, and on life support. As hard as it was to imagine it, she guessed that there might be people who cared about her boss the same way that she did about Rayna, so she now felt bad for wishing such a  horrid thing upon innocent people - whether she was angry with _him_ , or not. His family had done nothing to her.

To help calm herself, Emily hummed to herself as she worked, and slowly was able to get her mind off of things. For a little while, anyway.

The resolve that Emily had able to get herself to, to remain calm and at least reasonably pleasant, weakened as time went on. Customers were apparently feeling particularly picky and rude today, and especially with her. Her boss kept hanging around, reminding her of all his threats; even without saying a word to her. It was in the looks he gave her - his body language.

Around the end of her first shift, which had actually been a shorter one, one of her co-workers came to her to let her know that a phone call had come in for her. She was in the middle of cleaning the floor at the time, so she pushed herself up off of it slowly. Drying her hands, Emily went to the phone. She’d just found out that it was the hospital calling her, when her boss came around the corner.

“I pay you to _work_ , Garnet. Not yack on the phone!” He stated, an angry expression on his face.

Emily made a face, and tried to gesture to him that it was important. To wait. He was quiet for only a few seconds, before he started in again.

“Sir, please..this is important..” Emily sighed sharply, furrowing her brows together, as she tried to hear what the phone call was for. He was still ranting and raving, when the reason for the call finally reached her ears. All other sounds faded out, as a numb, sick feeling rose through her body. It started with what felt like the hardest punch in the stomach; the pain in her chest returning with a vengeance afterwards.

“What..?” Emily finally was able to croak out, her throat feeling tight. The voice on the other end of the phone repeated itself, hitting her harder the second time. All color washed out of her face. Her grip on the phone would have been enough to strangle it if it were alive - her knuckles were turning bleached white.

“N-no..you’re wrong. I payed that already! Put it back! Y-you have to..please!” A shakiness entered her voice, as hot tears pricked at the edges of her eyes. The answer of ‘we can’t, she’s already gone’ and ‘you have our utmost condolences’ did her no good. Nor did the sound of the phone clicking as her boss took it from her and hung it up.

Frozen by her pain, Emily’s mind reeled. She was trying to process it. Trying to figure out how a hospital could make such an error - not checking their systems a second time, before taking someone off of life support. Still trying to process everything, she barely registered that her boss was yelling at her.

“This is the last time I put up with you,” he was saying.

Pain shot through her chest, causing her to recoil as if stabbed. Breathing shaky, rattly at best, her glance finally meeting his. “She’s dead..”

Her voice trembled, as tears fell down her cheeks. “My sister is dead.. They took her off life support.. They said I didn’t pay it, but I did..” Emily shook her head. “A..a malfunction with the system, or..something..I..” She tried to make sense of it, and had trouble. Meanwhile, her boss wasn’t hearing any of it. And customers were wondering what was going on. What all the commotion was.

“You’re making a scene,” was the callous remark that her boss gave her, before continuing to agitate the situation by beating down on her sister. On Emily’s work ethic.

At last, she had enough.

“This..this is all your fault!” Emily finally accused, pointing her finger at him. “If you had paid me what you’re supposed to, I could have put more money in there and then there would be no mistake!” Her voice shook, and more tears fell.

 _“You’d better watch it,”_ he warned, an angry scowl on his face. “You are way out of line. You know I pay you as much as you’re worth here--you’re lucky you get anything at all! You’re no better than that sister of yours. If she was here, I’d fire her and then fire you, too!”

Co-workers frowned, unsure what to say or do. Their attention was drawn from the loud argument, to the flickering lights all around them. Fear filled many of them and of the customers, who could do nothing but watch.

**. . .**

Outside, a feeling of uncertainty and concern was filling someone else.

Having found and read the note that she left him, Loki had been busy taking care of the undone things at Emily’s apartment for her. It was supposed to be a surprise - something to make her smile. If not for that, he would have noticed her purse sitting in the kitchen, and went to take it to her sooner.

Clutching the bag tighter, Loki was cautious as he went into the restaurant. The flickering lights did not seem a good sign to him. But before he could even try to piece together what might be going on, he heard Emily screaming at someone else. At least, he thought it might be her - he’d never heard her scream at anyone; not in the few days of knowing her now, anyway.

A sudden explosion of light and the sound of someone hitting a wall, drew his attention towards the kitchen area. People were panicking, there was a man laying in the floor groaning in pain, and not far from him, so was Emily. Aside from the obvious remnants of tears on her face, she seemed to be clutching at her chest in pain. Her nose was bleeding, and she looked paler than usual.

In a not-completely-instant act, more than one thing happened: the restaurant began to piece itself back together, as Loki carefully picked her up. Memories began to be drawn out of as many people as he could - or changed, for those who proved more difficult to do so with - as he carefully picked Emily up. Given he was still learning how to do a lot of this, it took more out of him than he would have liked. A last bit of magical energy was used, to put them somewhere else, so he could safely call up to Heimdall to bring him back.

This hadn’t been the way that he wanted to tell her, or to show her.. But it seemed that things were out of his control, now; as they usually ended up being anyway. Nor had it been his intention to have to leave her pets behind - they meant so much to her, which he could see. Leaving them was a hard choice to make, to get her to someone that he knew could help her. Seeing as he didn’t trust the so-called doctors of this realm to see to it that she was helped properly, it meant taking her to Asgard now; to see a healer.

The thought that perhaps he could come back and get them while she recovered, crossed his mind. _Surely, by the time she were to wake up from this, enough of his magic would have returned to be able to retrieve two pets.._ This in mind, he looked up to the sky, took a breath, and called up to Heimdall to bring them back.

All the time, hoping that this wasn’t going to all end up being a big mistake. After all, she’d just shown an enormous amount of power - something that he’d felt coming off of her since having first re-met her - so he was fairly certain that she wasn’t human. _That had to count for something, didn’t it?_

 


	5. Chapter four, part one. "A secret not-so-well-kept."

“This secret was one well-kept..there is **_no way_ ** that he should have known.”

“I _told you_ , when you took their memories..that such a bond could not so easily be broken. I saw it, when they were children.” Frigga paused, saying no more to her husband. She was still trying to understand how this all had happened. Retaining memories when they were supposed to have been eradicated, was one thing. Going and finding someone who - against all odds; was not dead as she was though to be - and bringing her back here, years later..was something else entirely.

Thinking on her words, Odin’s brow creased. He had not accounted for the possibility of Emily being found again, let alone on Earth, of all places. A realm, that, by all means, had long since been abandoned by not only the Aesir, but many others as well. Before he could say anything else - on this, or his other long string of hidden deceptions and morally questionable actions - Frigga’s grandmother-figure, Frija, came in.

“There is a great power hidden within the girl,” she stated, bright eyes going from one to the other. “If I remember correctly, you said that when her realm was destroyed..an ancient object of great power went missing?” Frija rose an eyebrow, arms loosely folded beneath her chest.

No answer came from either ruler, though the expressions that she was given, told the elder all that she needed to know. A glance was cast down the hall from which she’d come, before she continued.

“If that is _true_ ,” she exhaled slowly, and pursed her lips. _”I believe that we have just found it.”_

**. . .**

“Let him tell you on his own,” Frigga reminded, as she did her best to keep up with the Allfather. After being informed by his wife’s grandmother-figure that the girl who Loki had brought back with him was possibly the last surviving person from an ally long-lost, he was not thinking entirely straight. Hurrying towards where she was resting, Odin wanted to see for himself. He was paying very little attention to what his queen had to say, which was by no means a surprise to her. It was, however, still quite frustrating.

Inside the room where Emily was still not yet awake, Loki sat beside her bed. His younger sister, Orra, looked at Emily curiously. A small bit of conversation about her passed between them, before the doors came open. Drawing both the attention of the youngest prince and princess, only Loki rose; Orra remained seated.

“Father,” Loki began, expecting fully for Odin to try telling him to send Emily back.

“She is not as she appears.” he added, already trying to keep any objections to her being here from being made. “I have yet to explain it to her..As she does not know,” a brief look was taken her way, before he looked back at the king.

“But I have reason to believe--”

“No explanation necessary.” Odin held up his hand, cutting Loki off abruptly. A mostly-masked look of irritation at this crossed Loki’s face. He said nothing, however, and sat back down.

Frigga frowned, exhaling slowly. She wished her husband would give Loki the time that he needed to explain things if he felt the need, though she had exhausted herself many a time, trying to convey this desire to the stubborn old man. Offering a look of sympathy to her son, Frigga turned and followed after Odin. Though softly, she could be heard telling him _‘You should have let him speak,’_ as the doors were closing.

**. . .**

Later in the day, while Emily still lay - worryingly - unconscious, Frigga and Frija sat down with Loki to discuss things with him. It did not go as well as they could have liked, but he took it better than either thought that the young woman of which they spoke might. Trying to tell Thor would be difficult - though not so much so for their elder brothers, they thought; as they had missed most of their childhood by having to learn their own things anyway - so they left it for now. Memories to any of the others could be returned to them soon enough: for now, they focused on undoing the magic which held back the remainder of Loki’s memories. With them completely returned, the full meaning of what all had happened hit him.

While thankful that his mother and great-grandmother-figure were the ones to tell him, it was still a lot to take in. Feelings that he’d had so many years ago were trying to make a return, as the memories came back. With these on top of so many memories, so many facts, he had to sit for a time to think on it. To adjust.

After he had some time to try and get used to the idea, Frigga and Frija had their own questions on how he had met her on Earth; how he had first found out about her.

That all discussed, the problem of having left Emily’s pets behind came up. Loki knew that this would all be a lot for her to take -- given that it had been for _himself_ , he could only imagine how **she’d** take it.

“I believe that we could speak with Heimdall about it.” Frija proposed, looking from her granddaughter to her great-grandson - who, for simplicity sake,’  she spoke of as being her grandson; and in turn, he his grandmother - with a raised brow. “Being our Gatekeeper, it should be no problem to bring a cat and a dog here.”

Frigga nodded her agreement on the matter, and rose from her seat.

“I do not see an issue with that,” she stated, offering a small smile to Loki, who looked to be at least a little bit relieved.

“Thank you, mother,” he answered her, accepting her hug when she gave it. “That will make Emily very happy.”

“You are welcome, my son.” Frigga nodded, a soft kiss given to his cheek. She gave a quiet exhale, before turning to go and look for Heimdall - who she found not standing at the gate, but speaking with her husband.

Once she left the room, a small bit more of conversation passed between the two before they began to walk around. They talked about a few other things, gradually relaxing, up until the time they stopped at the doors to the room where Emily was resting. A bit of hesitance was given from Loki, which Frija noted.

“Perhaps she is awake now,” Frija suggested, gesturing to the doors. “Dinner will be served soon, it might be a good idea to bring her something. If you like, I can bring her some things from my garden?” the woman tilted her head, golden blonde hair shifting lightly as she did so.

Loki thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“Yes, thank you grandmother. I think that may be a good idea. Something small to start with..” he trailed off, before going to add “Though nothing..”

“Nothing magical?” Frija questioned, a soft laugh coming from her. “Of course not. I tend to keep those for us all.. Unless asked for. Don’t worry, I will not bring her anything unusual. A few apples, normal ones..No golden ones. Likely some berries, things of that sort.” she nodded, earning a little smile from her youngest grandson.

“Alright,” Loki nodded to her, glancing briefly back towards the doors. His attention was drawn back to the older woman, when she added softly, something about about enlisting Orra’s help in gathering some flowers. Perhaps the help of his nephews and niece as well -- she knew that sooner or later they would be wondering about who the strange girls that their uncle had brought back from Earth was, so she figured that it may be best to try to explain it to them rather than let them hear it from someone else. Namely their grandfather; someone who Frija did not exactly favor, for her own reasons. Ones that she wished she could make known to both her youngest grandson and second granddaughter, but could not on pain of death make any mention of it.

A slow sigh came from Loki, before he went to check up on Emily again.

Having heard him saying something that seemed to be aimed at the girl who had previously not been awake, Frija turned and made her way down the hall.

**. . .**

“Grandmother, I do not understand something.” Orra looked to her grandmother, while lightly tracing her fingers over the petals of a flower that she had been looking at. Unlike her much younger niece, Torunn, Orra was taking her time to pick them out. She was not just grabbing anything that caught her eyes.

“Yes, dear?” Frija glanced in her direction, raising an eyebrow as she picked a few more berries.

“The young woman that Loki brought home today..she came from Midgard, yes? How is that, when she does not seem to be human?” Orra frowned a bit. She’d yet to have encountered a human, though she’d read many books from the palace library in which there were descriptions of them and what they were like. As nearly as she could tell, humans were not supposed to give off a feeling of _odd power.._

A soft laugh came from Frija in answer. Putting her basket down, she sighed.

“That would be because she is not,” she began simply, going to explain it to her further, though she was cut off by Torunn running up to them excitedly, a fistful of flowers in tow.

“Lookie, Grandmother! Lookie! I got a bunch of pretty flowers, just like you said! Do you think Uncle Loki’s friend will like them?” The Asgardian equivalent to a seven-year-old asked, a bright and hopeful smile on her lips. She hopped up and down, earning a look of slight amusement from Orra. If there was anyone whose mood could powerfully affect that of the others around her, it was Torunn.

“I think she will love them, Torunn, sweetheart.” Frija stated, squatting down to her level. She brushed some hair out of her face, and smiled brighter when Torunn squealed happily.

“Yay!” Torunn grinned, hopping up and down again.

Frija smiled, then gave a look of pretend surprise. “Oh, my. It seems that you might have forgotten a color!” Frija stated, then pointing out some flowers that Torunn hadn’t gotten any of yet. Torunn looked disappointed, and frowned a bit.

“I thought you said that I couldn’t pick those..?” she questioned, looking to her grandmother uncertainly. “You said those flowers are special.”

Frija nodded, turning Torunn back to them. “You are correct, darling. I did say that. But this is a special enough occasion, I don’t see why it would hurt to pick a few of them. Could you do that for me?” Frija asked, raising a brow. The little girl in front of her thought on it, then nodded. Setting her flowers down carefully on a stone bench, Torunn nodded.

“Yes, I can! Don’t leave, I’ll go get them!”

“Alright, dear. You do that! We’ll be here waiting.” Frija smiled at her, giving her a small wave as she darted off to go and get the multicolored flowers.

Rising up again, Frija brushed some hair out of her face and returned her attention to Orra, who was now looking at her in question again, hoping for an answer.

“Alright, dear.. I suppose you are in need of some explaining. It will take Torunn some time to decide, so come. Sit, and I will explain it to you as best I can.”

**. . .**

Once Frija was done explaining it to her, Orra blinked. Torunn’s brothers had since arrived as their grandmother was explaining things to Orra, and so now knew as much as the two girls did.

“So, she is not a human..she comes from another realm?” Orra asked, a confused look on her face. “I thought there were only the nine?” She shook her head.

“She’s right..we’ve never been told about any others..” Torunn’s eldest brother, a dark-haired boy of about fifteen or so, stated with a frown and crossed his arms.

“Why wouldn’t grandfather tell us about another realm?” Torunn’s third older brother asked, as the middle nodded his agreement. “If there was another, there should have been stories..right?”

Frija sighed, nodding slowly to each of them.

“You are all correct. I can only suppose that he did not wish it to impact the lives of your brothers, Orra.. your uncle, and your father,” she said, nodding to the boys. “I did not meet her as a child, when last she was here. All I know comes from Frigga,” she explained, keeping careful watch of Torunn from out the corner of her eyes.

“Or else, I would likely have more stories to tell you. I do, however, know of the realm which she came from. That much, I could tell you about. At a later time, though.” she paused, seeing that Torunn had finally picked out the extra flowers that she wanted for Emily.

“What are we to tell our sister?” Torunn’s eldest brother, Ullr, asked, briefly glancing in her direction.

“For now, nothing too in-depth. I think, for the moment, telling her that your uncle brought home a friend is enough. Anything more may be a bit much for her take at the moment,” Frija decided, thinking that this would be the most truthful, and easiest, thing to tell the small child should she ask.

“I will speak more with you on it later,” she said, then turning her attention to Torunn, who had gotten her dress all messy while searching for what she thought were the prettiest flowers.

“I got more, Grandmother! See?” Torunn declared, holding up her two little fists, which were full of flowers.

“Oh, I do see! What lovely flowers. You did a wonderful job, Torunn!” Frija cheered her efforts on, and booped her nose.

“Thank you, Grandmother!” Torunn giggled, then turning to her brothers. “Oh! They got the books already?” she asked, looking over to Frija.

“They did,” Frija confirmed, then nodding in the direction of her youngest-but-still-older-than-her brother, Modi.

“And I asked Modi here to bring you a vase for your flowers, too.” Frija said, as she gathered the flowers laying on the stone bench from Torunn’s previous little ‘adventure’ through her garden. “Remember to thank him, it looks heavy.”

The blonde boy shook his head. “Oh it’s not, I’ve got it Grandmother. See? I’m nearly as strong as Father is now!” He grinned proudly, though his brothers snickered. A glare was tossed their way, as he set it down. “It’s true! I didn’t have any trouble with it at all,” he boasted, crossing his arms and shutting his eyes.

“Is that why you were whining about its weight on the way here?” Magni, the middle brother of the three boys, asked, folding his arms as well.

“And why you kept asking to switch Ullr and I? You wanted to carry the books instead,” he added, only for Orra to clear her throat at them. She was not a whole lot older than Magni, but still acted very much the aunt that she was to them, when she had to.

“Boys,” she warned, nodding her head in Torunn’s direction. Their arguing always upset her, and it was already starting to, by the expression on the little girl’s face.

They stopped, and fell silent. Though a few more glares and faces were made, before they finally began to ‘behave themselves.’ Orra rolled her eyes in annoyance, but readily accepted the suggestion that Ullr gave, when he proposed that they take the books and flowers to Emily, then went to play a game until it was time for dinner.

Pleased that they were no longer arguing, Frija nodded as well. Picking up Torunn, she kissed her cheek; an action that brought back the young goddess’s smile, and placed her on her hip. Giving Orra the basket, Frija gathered up the vase and flowers. Holding her youngest -- _technical_ great-great -- grandchild on one hip; the vase was put on the other, after having been filled with water and the flowers placed inside it. Their arrangement was briefly advised by Torunn, before Frija turned to look at the others.

Once sure that they were all ready to go, she led them down the pathway from her garden, to the palace. It would take them a little while to get there, so she decided to ask them each about their day.

Which was a _welcome_ change of pace in their conversation, and thankfully, produced no further bickering amongst the boys.


	6. Chapter four, part two.

Emily sat in a tub of water, staring into silence. She was trying to piece it all together in her mind, but it still was making little to no sense to her. What Loki had told her.. It shouldn’t - no, couldn’t - be possible. Could it? Emily didn’t think so. But yet, here she was: sitting in a giant golden tub of water, in a place she’d only heard of in passing. As much as her mind ached from trying to understand it all, her body hurt that much more. A low sigh escaped her, as she took a breath and lowered herself beneath the water to try and relax.

She remained that way, eyes shut and unmoving, for as long as her held breath sustained her. When at last she needed another, Emily sat up and looked around again. Her bath had been prepared for her by maids, who thankfully seemed to be out of the room right now.

They were nice enough, but Emily could dress herself. Thank you very much.

Sitting for a little while longer, Emily washed her hair and herself slowly. Not overly eager to have to talk to anyone right now, Emily sighed once more and slowly got out of the tub. Drying herself with what she believed to be a towel, she went for the clothing left behind for her by the maids.

A long dress - too long for her - a pair of shoes that were too big for her feet, and a cape that reminded her of the ones princesses in her favorite books would wear. All of it made of the softest, seemingly best possible material - almost as if someone may have insisted upon that - and adorned in beautiful golden patterns. Curious fingers traced over these patterns, before Emily began to turn the dress. Trying to figure out how to put it on, over the underclothing left for her. Which, was thankfully not too overly big on her.

The shoes being too big on her, Emily set them aside and did her best to straighten her dress out. It was the fanciest thing that she had ever worn, and a part of her felt altogether unworthy of it. She frowned lightly as she looked herself over in the mirror, chewing at her lower lip in thought. Her gaze fell over to the cape that had been left for her. Seeing no one else in the room, Emily picked it up. If no one else was around, why not try it on? Even if only for a moment. She thought to herself for a few seconds more, then slipped it on and pulled the hood up. A bright smile crossed her face. Turning one way or another to see how it would move, Emily decided that she liked it and would keep it on. Besides, it made her feel less..small. And would give her a way to hide, should she feel the need. So, this was also a plus.

After having goofed around for a little while, Emily looked over to the table by the bed. There were now three things sitting on it, which weren’t there before. A basket of fruits, a few books, and a vase full of flowers which were slightly crumpled in places, as if a child had picked them. Tilting her head, she carefully picked up the note that accompanied the sudden presents. Unfolding it, her eyes scanned over the writing. It was nearly as beautiful as everything else in this room; even though this seemed to be more of a temporary room to rest in, by the set up.

_‘We hope these will make you feel more comfortable here, and are all looking forward to meeting you soon. Feel better soon, dear.’_

The note was written with such a beautiful hand, that Emily guessed it must have taken a very long time to master. It was signed ‘with love..’ and had a total of five names on it, aside from that of the one who’d written the note. The main name, which matched the handwriting in the note, was Frija. The names to follow, were all of similar, but different handwritings; with the last of them being quite clearly from a child with less experience writing than the others. Ullr, Orra, Magni, Modi, and Torunn.

_Torunn. I wonder if Torunn is the one who picked the flowers..?_

A soft knock came to the door, startling Emily. She had just placed the note back down, and picked up a fruit; the sound almost making her drop it. Unsure of who it might be, she cleared her throat.

“C-come in?” Grasping the fruit tighter, she bit her lip. Stiff and hyper-focused on the doors, she waited to see who would come in.

To her surprise, it was a young-looking woman, with golden-blonde hair. She had bright eyes, that held a soft look to them. A warm, motherly-type smile pressed on her lips, hands folded in front of her.

“Ah, so I see that you’re awake now.” she stated, nodding lightly. Seeing the fruit in Emily’s hands, her smile grew a bit. “Those are some of my favorites,” she commented. “Have you had a chance to try it yet, dear?” she rose an eyebrow, keeping her distance until Emily was not so unsure of her presence. Having lived so much longer than she appeared to have been alive, Frija was well aware of the signs of a person not being ready to be approached. Thankfully also patient, she waited nearer to the doors than to Emily herself.

 _Dear?_  Emily paused. Thinking back to the note, her mind guessed this must be the woman who had signed first; her thoughts now placing the name she thought belonged to the woman, she shook her head slowly.

“N-no..” Emily started. “..Ma’am.” She added this quickly, and shifted her weight on her feet. Looking down at the fruit in her hands, she pretended to be largely interested in the color and shape of it. It was quite different than those she’d seen on Earth, so it actually was holding a small portion of her attention right now.

“Frija,” she corrected, a soft smile on her face. “You don’t have to stand on formality with me, dear. I prefer to be called by my name, anyway.”

Emily bit at her lower lip, but nodded to her. “Frija..” she repeated, though her eyes fell back to the fruit that she held in her hands. Frija noticed this, and thought for a moment. When she finally spoke again, she offered a warm smile.  

“Do you like gardens?”

**. . .**

Getting her there took some persuading, but was finally accomplished once Frija told Emily about a curious little bird who might want to meet her. Emily found it cute, and so finally agreed to go.

Bringing the fruit that she held with her, Emily slowly ate it as Frija led her up to her gardens. It took longer this way, but gave her time to show Emily around a little bit, and help her to unwind a little bit. By the time they reached the garden, it was late into the afternoon. Different colors were filing the sky, each fading into one another like a beautiful painting. This being the background for Frija’s garden, Emily only found it that much more breathtaking. She was soon sitting in the garden listening to stories from Frija, eating various fruits - though Frija was sure not to let her have the ones with magical properties, as she promised Loki she would - and occasionally watching birds. Meeting and watching the ‘curious little one’ that Frija had mentioned earlier, was what she was doing when the sound of footsteps came up behind her.

“There you are..” Loki sighed, shaking his head. He had a soft smile on his face, though. Just glad that she was safe; he gained comfort knowing that she’d been with his grandmother, and not off wandering around alone after the day that she’d had. Having gone to check up on her, he saw only the note and ‘welcoming gifts’ sitting on the table by the bed. This was how he’d guessed on where to find Emily.

Loki was about to say something more, when he took notice of how there seemed to be an unusual amount of fireflies hanging around Emily every so often. So instead, this was what he elected to comment on; in turn, earning a soft laugh from her.

A small bit of conversation passed between the two, before he sat down with Emily and Frija. Being able to sit and talk to only two people at once was much less overwhelming to Emily than trying to talk to a group - in time, she felt enough at ease to even offer small smiles, and more laughter. It was something that made Loki feel a little bit better, seeing as he knew she’d been more than just a little bit upset earlier - and even confused - when he’d tried to explain things to her.  Before long, Frija suggested that Loki take Emily back to the palace. It was getting late, and she thought that they all could use some rest.

Given that the next day would be quite busy, Frija was not far off from being right.


	7. Chapter four, part three

The night before had been spent mostly in talking to Loki and walking the halls. She was still trying to get used to the idea of all of this being real, and it was very overwhelming to be hit with it all at once. While she had many questions, she was not sure on how to word most of them. She ended up only asking Loki about a fourth of the things that she wanted to ask him, before being led to a new room. This one, being meant for her to stay in. 

“The gifts brought for you will be retrieved and brought in the morning,” Loki had said, upon bringing her to the doors of her new room. “If you need anything, let me know.” he added, before starting to turn to leave. He hung around long enough, though; to hear her reaction to the surprise that he’d left her in her new room. 

Her pets. 

. . . . . . . .

When morning came, both Billy and Carole were laying curled up in the large bed with Emily. They were still laying there with her, when the soft knock came to the doors. Both of them sitting up immediately, Carole barked and Billy put his paw on Emily’s shoulder. Pulling herself out of sleep, Emily sat up a bit and rubbed her eyes. She’d gone to bed only after slipping on the nightgown that had been left out for her, so when she went to get out of bed, she had to steady herself so as not to fall. 

“U-um..hold on..” Emily answered tiredly, running a hand through her hair. She looked around to see if she could find the dress she’d been given the day before; bumping into the flower vase that had been brought in sometime when she was sleeping, Emily squeaked in surprise. “Oh..oh no, no..please don’t fall!” she pleaded with the vase, only catching her breath when it steadied again. After a bit more bumping into things and stepping on her dress once she found it and got it on, Emily went to the door and peeked out. 

“Yes?” she asked, quieting a little yawn with her hand. 

To her surprise, it was actually Loki standing at her doors. 

“Good morning, Emily.” He smiled at her, looking a bit amused at her ruffled state. “The maid I sent for is not the best at hairdressing, I take it?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“What maid..?” Emily asked in return, and fell quiet for a moment. “I don’t think.. a maid came,” she started, then glancing over to the table by her bed. “O-other than to leave my flowers and fruit.. Um.. no one came in to help with my hair though..” she said, looking back over at Loki to see that he now looked to be quite upset. 

“What? I specifically asked a maid to come in and help you this morning,” he said, his expression falling. 

“I..it’s alright, Loki. Really.. I can get dressed on my own,” she said, running her fingers through her hair, and nervously trying to fix the wrinkles in her dress. “See?” She asked, and gave a weak little smile. 

“Uh-huh.” Loki shook his head at her. “If you say so-“ he started. He was cut off before he could say any more, though; the sound of a child running down the hall came through, quickly followed by another child, soon after. Both were laughing, though one of them seemed to be slightly frustrated with the other. 

“What was that..?” Emily asked, raising an eyebrow. Trying to peek around Loki, she tilted her head. Turning his head, Loki let out a soft sigh. 

“That would be either Magni or Modi, running off with one of Ullr’s books in order to get him to play with them.” Loki said, shaking his head and loosely folding his arms across his chest. 

“Oh..” Emily answered softly, then looking down at her feet. Billy had come over to rub on her leg, and sniff at Loki. He purred happily, the sound growing when she reached down to scratch behind his ears. After a few more seconds, Loki turned back to her. 

“However.. I have been wrong before. So perhaps we should go and see, do you think?” He asked her, holding his hand out to her. Seeing Billy by her feet, he just smiled. “Ah, I see he found you.” 

Emily looked up, and nodded. “He did,” she confirmed, then corrected herself. “W-well, rather..I guess I found him. And Carole,” Emily said, then nodding to the dog asleep on her bed. 

“And..um.. maybe we should. Go see, I mean..” Emily agreed, before picking up Billy and taking him to sit on her bed as well. Holding up her skirt, she went back over to Loki, who held the door open for her, then shut it after she stepped out. Then taking her hand, Loki led her after the kids to go find them. 

. . . . . . . . 

Five minutes or so later, both Loki and Emily found themselves outside. Their search for the boys had lead them here, although it took them much longer to find where they had  _ really  _ gone. A garden adjacent to the palace, which was the one that the  **queen herself** most often took care of. In this garden, was a large pond. Nearly large enough to be a  _ lake _ , actually. 

This was where the kids were all playing. Splashing one another, or running around the water with poor Ullr’s book and threatening to drop it in. 

The first thing to catch Emily’s attention when they arrived in this garden, however, was not the rambunctious children playing with one another. It was the colors of the flowers. While she had been in Frija’s garden the previous night - and it was by far much larger and had more to it - Emily still found it to be beautiful. It reminded her much of the little garden that her adopted mother had had when Emily was smaller. That one had only a few flowers to it, but the work that her mother had put into it, the birds and animals that would visit.. It all made it so special to her. Including when at night, the fireflies would come. And for whatever reason, they always seemed to be incredibly attracted to Emily - something that had not stopped since then. She had just been avoiding them as much as she could as she got older and lost her sister - they brought too many painful memories back, and Emily couldn’t handle it. 

The  _ second  _ thing to catch her attention, was something that she saw in the water with the kids. 

Whatever it was, was glistening golden in the sun - Emily was not surprised at all to see the color again.  _ Gold  _ seemed to be a prevailing color choice here, she had noticed. Upon taking a closer look, Emily could now tell what it was. Although she  **_still_ ** did not believe her eyes. 

“I..is.. Is that?” she looked over at Loki, mouth slightly agape. She blinked, freezing in place.  _ This place was so unreal, _ she thought. 

“Oh, my sister?” Loki asked, as if it were an everyday thing, to see what she was now seeing. “Or, rather..my adopted sister. See, my mother found her left alone. She’s an Asgardian mermaid, though. So, yes. You  _ are  _ seeing what you think you are.” he added, trying not to let his amusement about her reaction seep through too much. 

While Emily was still trying to process everything, one of the kids caught sight of Loki and ran over to him. No surprise; it was Torunn who had gotten out of the water to run over to him. 

“Uncle Loki, uncle Loki! More of Auntie Eira’s tail is shiny now!” she exclaimed, as he picked her up - even though she was soaking in pond water. He usually wouldn’t have, but Torunn was his one exception. 

“Oh, it is, is it?” he asked her, to which she nodded excitedly. 

“Yes! It’s so pretty,” she grinned, then looking over at Emily. “Ooh, you brought your pretty lady friend!” she smiled happily. “Are you going to swim with us?” she asked hopefully, clasping her hands together and bouncing in Loki’s arms. “Please, please?” Torunn begged, giving her very best attempt at ‘puppy-dog eyes.’ Which,  _ usually  _ got the little girl what she wanted. 

“Well..” Loki paused, looking over at Emily. Technically, there were things that he probably had to do today. As for Emily, there were still things that she probably needed to learn about. However, it was just so hard not to give in to Torunn. And the day was a nice one, after all. Whatever else that Emily was wondering about, as well as whatever else that Loki had to attend to, could probably wait for a little while.  _ Right? _ At least, long enough for them to spend time with the children. 

Emily thought about it for a moment, then nodded. She seemed to be excited too, since there were a few shades of pink rising to her pale cheeks now. 

“Sure..” she smiled softly; it grew a bit after it truly hit her, though. “I’ve.. I’ve always wanted to meet a mermaid!” she laughed a bit, running a hand through her hair. “I can’t believe I get to meet a mermaid!” A mermaid..” she repeated, before tilting her head. “Is there..anything that you don’t have here?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Torunn - who Loki had set down - was leading them both over to the other kids and to the pond. 

To her question, though, Loki just smiled at her, and shook his head. 

“You have  _ no  _ idea.”

. . . . . . . 

How much time they spent in the pond was a lot longer than expected. A few hours later, both Emily and Loki went inside with the kids; they all went to get cleaned up, though the children went their own ways from the two adults.  In quite the good mood, Emily had managed to come out of her shell a little bit more, and seemed to be understanding at least a little more about Asgard than she had initially. Loki also felt decently happy: things were going alright, and nothing too major needed his attention once he’d gotten himself cleaned up from having been in the pond with Emily and the children. That said, he left Emily in the library with his sister Orra until he was done. Figuring that they would be safe, he thought it might also be good for them to get to know one another.  _ Because, hopefully.. _ Emily would be staying here for a long time.  _ And if she did, she’d need to get to know the people that she was to be living around, right?  _

“What is it like..Midgard, I mean?” Orra asked, while pulling more books down off the shelves. They contained history and facts about Asgard, that she thought Emily might be interested in. 

Already flipping through a book that Orra had brought her, it took Emily a moment to hear her question and to look up so she could answer her. 

“Oh..Earth?” Emily thought for a moment. “It’s..interesting,” she sighed softly. “Definitely not as interesting as Asgard is. That much I can say.” she said, giving a light laugh. “From what I have seen so far.. We have a lot less golden structures, too..” she said, earning a light laugh from Orra. 

“Fair enough,” the young blonde goddess answered, brushing some hair out of her face as she sat down at the table with Emily, a few other books now sat on the table beside her. After a while’s pause, Orra spoke up again. 

“Do you know anything of your home realm?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Emily bit her lip, slowly closing the book that she’d been skimming through. Swallowing roughly, Emily shook her head slowly. 

“I.. um.. no.. not really. Only what I have been told so far,” Emily stated, trying to think of how else to answer the young princess. “I have been told a bit about it.. but I am afraid that they may not be telling me everything..” she added, a frown crossing her face. Wise beyond her years, Orra nodded in understanding. 

“It is possible that you have only been told so much,” Orra supposed, then adding a question of her own: something for Emily to think about. “Perhaps, it is because they wish to see whether or not you begin to remember anything on your own?” Orra rose a brow, to which Emily sat in silence.  _ That was possible enough, _ she guessed.

“Maybe..” Emily thought aloud, although she was still not all that sure about it. She could think of no other real reason for people that she’d just met to keep things from her, though, so Emily left it. Instead, she made conversation with Orra about other things. An enjoyable experience, which lasted up until Loki arrived at the library doors, and interrupted the story that Orra was telling Emily. Apparently, it was one that he didn’t favor the idea of Emily hearing the end of. 

“I have something to show you,” Loki added, turning to Emily at last. “If you would like to see it.” His smile gave little away, so Emily was simply left with her own thoughts on it as to whether or not she was going to agree to it or not. 

Finally, she nodded, slowly rising from her seat. Gathering the books that Orra had gotten down for her, Emily thanked her, and brushed some hair out of her face. 

“Splendid!” Loki smiled, then paused for a moment. “Although, I think we shall have to make a small stop at your room, first, hm? We wouldn’t want to ruin your books.” A soft laugh left him, as Emily nodded again, though slightly blushing now. 

“Oh, right.. we probably should..” she said, chewing at the skin on her lip for a moment. “Where are we going?” She finally asked as well, looking up and tilting her head. To this, Loki just shook his head, using his magic to take some of her books so she wouldn’t have to carry all of them on her own. 

“You’ll see.” Was all he said, before starting out the doors.


End file.
